Harbhajan Singh slams Australia, compares them to Sri Lanka
What's the story?
World Cup-winning Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh certainly hasn't held back in his criticism of the current Australia side, who have now lost 11 consecutive away ODIs, including the ongoing ODI series. He believes that the current side is a shadow of the side that he played against and has continued to slam the middle-order for their inconsistent display so far in the ODI series.
Speaking to Sportstak, Harbhajan said: "The kind of cricket Australia is playing it appears as if Sri Lankans are playing in yellow clothing. I haven't seen that Australian thing from them here. And whatever I know of Virat and his team they will be looking for nothing less than 5-0."
He also added that the current crop of Australian cricketers aren't good as the ones that he came up against and added that "there's something wrong somewhere. Something seriously wrong".
"I don't think in this Australian side anyone other than Finch or Warner or to some degree Steve Smith can take the team forward. The middle order does not know to rotate the strike. When they go for big shots, they do it taking big risks. This team is not a shadow of that Australian side," he added.
In case you didn't know...
This wasn't even the first time that the legendary Indian off-spinner has taken a dig at the Australian batting. Following the visitors' dismal showing in the third ODI, he took to Twitter to ask World Cup-winning Australian captain Michael Clarke, who is currently a commentator for the ongoing series to consider coming out of retirement as the era of Aussies producing top batsmen "is over".
The details
After a disastrous ICC Champions Trophy 2017, in which they even failed to make it to the semi-finals, Australia lost against Bangladesh for the first time in Tests. They have lost all three matches of the ongoing ODI series where their batsmen have struggled to finish properly and the bowlers haven't looked too threatening in the absence of their strike duo of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
What's next?
Having already lost the series, Australia will be looking to salvage some pride as they take on India in the fourth ODI at Bengaluru on Thursday. Victory in the final two ODIs could be just what the doctor ordered for them as they head into the three-match T20I series that begins on October 7.
Author's take
After losing 11 consecutive away ODIs, it is fair to say that the current Australian side is far from their best. But one has to take into account the injuries that they have suffered and the players that they are missing as a result. While Harbhajan's words should certainly be taken with a pinch of salt, it also highlights just how bad they have been in the series so far.